Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-11-05
A HISTORIC LETTER
And Relic of the Days of Kansas Bor-
der Ruffianism.

der Ruffianism.
In overhauling and rearranging the old
letters and miscellaneous papers in the
Office of the Secretary of State, saws the
| Springfield, ILL.,, Journal of August 18th,
Captain J. NJ. Adair lately found the orig.
inal letter making the requisition of the
President of the United States FRANKLIN
| PIERCE on the Governor of the State Of
Illinois Joel A. MattisoD), for troops to
assist in the infamous work of forcing
slavery upon the people of Kansas against
| their will. Few people seem to know that
such requisition was ever made, and ii
appears highly probable that John Hay
and John G. Nicolay were ignorant of the
existence of the letter, as they nowhere
refer to it in the somewhat extended dis
cussion of the Kansas difficulty embodied
in their " Life of Lincoln" now running
through the Century Magazine The letter,
which bears the autograph signature OF
Jefferson Davis, as Secretary of War, is as
! follows:
WAR DEPARTMENT
WASHINGTON, September 3, 1865.
| SIR: To suppress insurrectionary combina-
| tons against the constituted Government of the
| Territory of Kansas, and to enforce the due ex-
ecution of the law against armed resistance, ]
am instructed by the President of the United
States to make this. his requisition, upon you
for two regiments of foot militia to be furnished
| to Major General p F. Smith, of the United
States army, commanding the Military Depart
ment of the West, whenever the exigencies of
the public service shall induce him to call upon
you for the said troops, to be employed for the
purposes above indicated, within the limits of
said Territory.
Each regiment to consist of one Colonel, one
Lieutenant-Colonel,o one Major (the last named
to be taken from the Leuenants of the regi-
ment) one Sergeant Major and ten companies,
each company to consist of one Captain, one
First Lieutenant, one Second Lieutenant, four
Sergeants, four Corporals two musicians and
seventy four privates.
General Smith will be instructed, whenever
he may call upon you for these troops, to detail
an officer from his command to inspect and
muster them into the service of the United
States at such points as may be designated by
your Exeellency. Very respectfully your ODE
dient servant. JEFFERSON DAVIS.
Secretary of War
His Excellency, the Governor OF Illinois
In commenting on this letter the same
paper says: "This remarkable paper bears
date September 3, 1856, about two months
before the election of James Buchanan to
the Presidency over John c. Fremont, and
purports to have been issued las it no
doubt was) under the instructions of
Franklin Pierce, then President of the
United States. This was at a time when
tHC CANllcluGil Oli the NtllSdS-
question was at its hight, and when the
Republican party was marshaling its hosts
to resist the extension of slavery. At the
date mentioned the 'Border-Rufiians Of
Missouri were in virtual possession of the
Government (such as it was) of the Terri
tory of Kansas, and the object of the call
was to sustain them in their usurped au-
thority. The 'insurrectionary combina-
tions to be resisted were legitimate emil
grants from New England and other free
States, who went to Kansas prepared to
protect themselves, proposing to make
their homes permanently in that Territory,
and who were in favor of making it a free
State.
sit is curious fact that this was an
occasion when the future chief of the
rebel Confederacy was Jealous advocate
of the policy of suppressing 'insurrection-
airy combinations against the constituted
Government of State or Territory. though
few years latter, when he was himself
engaged in an instruction against 'the
constituted authority of the General Gov
eminent, he doubted the authority of
the latter to suppress it, as did large
proportion of the political party to which
he then belonged, and which were the
supporters of the administration of Frank
lin Pierce and james buchanan This is
not the only time. however, when a Dem
ocratic administration has assumed to ex-
ercise power in support of a bad cause
which it denied in behalf of n good one"
Hon. W. D. KELLER, the oldest mem
Der of Congress, argues that the whisky
tax of ninety cents a gallon ought to be
taken off because it amounts to little
more than half cent drink, and there
fore does not discourage intemperance.
Temperance would think this was an areu-
ment for increasing the tax. The best
temperance measure would be to send
every drunkard to reformatory prison
Exchange.